Dear ODFW: Please Remove Restrictions on Introduced Species

Last week I got into a conversation about smallmouth bass fishing on the Umpqua River. As some of you know, the bass fishing from (practically) Roseburg to Scottsburg can be amazing. You can catch fish all day, every day during the summer. You can literally catch 100+ bass a day. Anglers are recognizing the Umpqua River as one of the best smallmouth bass fishing locations in the world. The Big K Guest Ranch in Elkton is promoting this fishery as catch and release and demanding that anyone putting in on their property or passing through release these fish. Anyway, back to my conversation: this person wanted to know why there are daily limits on these fish. As it stands right now, the daily limit is 10 bass per day, any size. I, and many others feel this is too restrictive. Removing the limit on these fish, and other introduced fish in Oregon will help reduce their impact on our native salmon and trout.

Competition For Food And Space
A typical stretch of river only offers so much in the way of food and space for fish. There are only so many aquatic insects that can be eaten, only so many rocks and ledges for cover. When you increase the number of fish 10-fold, or 100-fold, some fish will lose out. Most often it’s the less-aggressive salmonids. Smallmouth bass are tough and aggressive feeders. So even though you might not find a salmon fry in the stomach of the next bass you catch, it doesn’t mean they aren’t competing with, and negatively impacting cold-water fish. If you still don’t think it’s that big of an impact, try inviting 100 people to your house to live for a few days. I think you’ll get the idea.

Striped Bass – Smolt Eating Machines
Striped bass, originally introduced to the Sacramento Delta from the East Coast in the late 1800’s, are well adapted to the Umpqua/Smith River systems. ODFW actually released these fish into certain Oregon rivers and bays for an additional sport fishing opportunity, not realizing that they are very efficient at feeding on juvenile salmon. Though striped bass populations go through peaks and valleys, there are still some large numbers of fish in the Umpqua, Coos Bay and the Coquille River.

ODFW, please consider these regulation changes:
REMOVE the daily bag limits on smallmouth bass and striped bass in the Umpqua/Smith system. The state of Oregon and federal government agencies spend millions each year on habitat restoration, dam removal, barging fish and other projects throughout the state to benefit salmon and trout. This simple step would cost nothing and benefit native fish greatly.

See You On The Water,
Action Jackson

(Please send comments or questions to Action Jackson at 268-6944 or www.actionjacksonfishing.com)